Boehner withdraws from debt talks with Obama

President Barack Obama makes a statement in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Friday, July 22, 2011 on the break down of debt ceiling talks. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Barack Obama said Friday night that House Speaker John Boehner was "walking away" from negotiations to raise the nation's debt ceiling and avert financial catastrophe. Still, Obama said he was expecting congressional leaders from both parties at the White House Saturday morning.

In a dramatic appearance in the White House briefing room Obama said it was up to the Republican leaders to explain to him how they intend to avoid the default that is threatened after Aug. 2.

"I expect them to have an answer in terms of how they intend to get this thing done in the course of the next week. The American people expect action," Obama said.

Boehner, in a letter circulated to the House Republican rank and file, said he had withdrawn from the talks with Obama because "in the end, we couldn't connect.He said he would turn instead to negotiations with leaders of the Senate, which is controlled by majority Democrats.

The disconnect in the talks with the White House, Boehner said, was "not because of different personalities, but because of different visions for our country.

The talks had veered uncertainly for weeks, generating reports as late as Thursday that the two sides were possibly closing in on an agreement to cut $3 trillion in spending and add as much as $1 trillion in possible revenue while increasing the government's borrowing authority of $2.4 trillion.

That triggered a revolt among Democrats who expressed fears the president was giving away too much in terms of cuts to Medicare and Social Security while getting too little by way of additional revenues